She knew that Leigh Eubank's projected finish time was four minutes after that, but Platzer had no idea if UMass Lowell's assistant rowing coach was running faster than usual on Monday.

"It was terrifying," said Platzer, who was watching the race on TV. "Between her finishing and thinking my team had gone down to the finish line to watch her finish, it was very, very frightening.

"I just said a prayer," she added.

That prayer was answered hours later. Once the chaos died down and cell phones started working again, Platzer learned that Eubank and the rowers were safe and sound.

Eubank, 28, of Somerville, crossed the finish line only 15 seconds before she heard the first explosion. One extra water break, 10 extra high-fives to the crowd, or one more cramp and it could have been a different story.

"It's really scary to think about how if I didn't have that strong 5K (final 3.1 miles), it was very possible that I would have been right there," said Eubank, who was running her first marathon. "I just kept telling myself to push to the finish, and I'm just thankful to make it out alive."

Eubank had started walking after crossing the finish line and instinctively hit the ground when she heard the first explosion. She saw the smoke behind her, saw the second blast, and "knew I needed to get out of there.

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"When it was the first explosion, I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe some electrical issue," Eubank said. "Then when the second one happened, I knew this was really bad.

"So I knew I needed to get away from the crowds right away and get out of there," she added. "Regardless of what it was, it was not a safe area to be in."

She immediately grabbed her belongings close to the finish line and moved several blocks away from the chaos. That's when letting her family, friends and athletes became impossible with poor cellphone service across the city.

"It was frightening because you just hoped they (rowers) hadn't gone to the finish line," Eubank said. "It was hard to get through to everybody. I was still getting and sending texts around 10 at night.

"I'm just thankful that I and everyone I knew was safe," she added.

Platzer, the head coach, also won't forget the waiting game; a few hours seemed like an eternity.

"There was no way to find out if anyone was OK," she said. "They kept showing the explosion again and again and again, and I looked everywhere for (Leigh) wearing long, black spandex and a blue shirt.

"I started banking on the fact that 4:09 would have been really fast for her," Platzer said. "But at the same time, no one knew her pace beyond mile 10, so we were just a mess."

Platzer eventually found out from one of Eubank's friends on Facebook that Eubank was safe and away from the explosions.

Platzer also sent out several "frantic" text messages and finally found out the rowers were all accounted for.

The athletes had been raising money for Newton-Wellesley Hospital before the explosions, rowing 26.2 miles on stationary ERG machines at mile-marker 17. The funds raised went to the High Risk Assessment Program at the Auerbach Breast Center.

"They use it for a good workout, to help raise money to fight cancer and just to experience the Boston Marathon," Platzer said. "The good news is that after they were done, they were nowhere near the bombing.

"Such a huge relief," she added.

Katrina Walther, a 2011 UML alumnus, finished rowing at Newton-Wellesley Hospital on Monday and was driving on Massachusetts Avenue, about a mile from the finish line, when she found out about the explosion. Walther immediately drove to her place in Dorchester .

"It was definitely a scary two hours when everyone was freaking out and everyone had no idea where people were," Walther said. "All you can do is just wait for that text.

"She's a great coach, and I'm so proud of her," Walther said of Eubank. "It's nice to know that nobody I was close with was hurt."

Eubank has been the UMass Lowell assistant rowing coach since September 2011. She grew up in Concord, N.H., and graduated from Smith College in 2006. She was a "standout rower and swimmer" at Smith for four years, according to a past UMass Lowell press release.

While Eubank's life flashed before her eyes on Monday, it won't deter her from running another marathon in the future.

"In a heartbeat," she said. "The crowds were fantastic, the city was amazing. It was just fantastic that my athletes came out to cheer me on. To see them on the sideline was a big boost."

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